RAM stability issues on Apex Encore 14900ks

[SinisterDev85]

Hey ROG Fam. Decided I needed to create a separate post for the crazy RAM issues I'm experiencing with my build.

So I've been get the hang of tuning the 14900ks. While leaving memory on Auto, I've managed to tune the CPU to to pass various stress tests and benchmarks now without thermal throttling. 

The RAM troubles im experiencing are driving me crazy! I have two kits. A Dominator Titanium 48gb 7200MT/s and a Trident Z5 8000MT/s. I finally moved onto trying to get ram stable at any XMP. I don't really wanna go the long, tedious, and unfamiliar route of tuning the Ram manually to squeeze out every drop of performance. I'd be perfectly happy just getting either of them running at XMP speeds, or a little lower, if necessary for stability. I've seen sooo many posts and videos claiming "the Encore should be able to do 8000MT easily", and yet I can't even get a 7200 kit stable.

I know there's 5 key voltages to play around with. I've been trying to keep SA at 1.2v and focus on others first, because supposedly raising it higher can introduce other stability issues. So far neither kit will run at  XMPII, even if I bump up  VDD, VDDQ, VDDQ transmitter, and MC voltage a bit. Literally the best case scenario I've achieved is getting Windows booted and running a RAM test on OCCT and had it start throwing errors rather quickly, but not crashing. Once I achieved that much, i created a save profile to revert back to. Because my other attempts have lead to far worse outcomes. Mostly a plethora of BSODs just attempting to log into windows. Corruption of files that had me needing to run SFC, DISM and eventually reinstall windows fresh, again. It's been a nightmare.

Im genuinely hoping there isn't something wrong with the motherboard itself. Because its seen 3 cpus and 2 ram kits now. The current 14900ks is SP 101. Decent bin. MC score is supposedly 87. Much better than the 70 on my first 14900k. Yet still in RAM hell.

Is there anything else that could be causing this problem? I did see it mentioned that torquing down the AIO block to the contact plate too tightly can cause memory controller issues. However Ive readjusted the block several times and I've only tightened down the thumb screws by hand. No screwdriver used. So I don't think ive over tightened them. 

Im just trying to think of anything that could be causing me so much trouble getting this system stable. Cpu finally seems good and yet the RAM, which this board is supposedly the best for, has been maddeningly difficult to get stable. Perhaps there are some bios options that effect memory that im overlooking? Any recommendations for memory tweaks that might help me get this system stable finally?! 

[SinisterDev85 · Accepted solution]

Ok I think I may be onto something FINALLY! I came across a reddit warning not to use the new screws that come with the updated Thermal Grizzly contact frame, but to instead use the screws that came from the stock plate. And also not to tighten them all the way down. 

The new instructions for the updated plate really doesn't have much info. It simply says to "hand tighten only", whereas the V1 frame required a great deal of precision to torque down perfectly, this V2 sounded deceptively simple.

So, I remove the new frame's screws, replaced them with the originals from the motherboard and loosely tightened them down. Reapplied my Kryosheet and hand tightened down my cpu cooling block. Went into bios and kept all my previous settings, but set memory to XMP 2.  I loaded into Windows and ran the Large stress test to test the whole system and it's been running for 20 minutes now with no errors!! Previously there would have been errors immediately upon starting the test. Possibly even a BSOD! This is amazing progress. Im so relieved.  Going to perform some more tests on both sets of RAM! Those tiny little screws could very well be the source of so much frustration these past few weeks! I'll update when I run some more tests! People using the TG Contact Plate should be made aware of this. 

[Silent_Scone]

Hi @SinisterDev85 

Glad you resolved this. This would have been one of my first suggestions. It's very easy to over torque the TG frame and I often advise users experiencing chronic memory issues beyond stock to firstly remove it.

[Yuvaletzi]

Hey glad to hear you resolve it

I have the part ready to build Apex Encore + 14900KS + 8400MHZ G skill RAM KIT buit I'm afraid with the issues intel have lately did you encounter any BSOD or crashes during games with the 14900KS ? 

I dunno if should I return it to the store and wait for arrow lake or build it Right now :S

[SinisterDev85]

Thanks. And nope I haven't had any problems gaming or using the system since I resolved the issue with the contact plate and tuned the system after that! Its been running great now!

It does take a bit of tweaking to get the 14900ks temps under control based on what you have to cool it. But it was pretty easy to find the sweet spot, once I finally got to tuning the system under ideal conditions. I went from super frustrated to actually enjoying tuning the system after working out the kinks. 

[Yuvaletzi]

Happy to hear! I’m about to build my system tomorrow and I’ll be very glad if you could help me tuning my system on BIOS 🙏

same specs like yours btw apex encore + 14900ks + 8400mhz g skill ram 

[SinisterDev85]

I'll do my best to give you a hand. I've definitely gotten a better grasp of tuning 13/14th gen now. I've still got a bunch more fine tuning I can still do, but after going without a PC for so long, I just wanted to get back to playing some games and working on art lol. 

What are you going to be using to cool your 14900ks? Because that'll largely contribute to how far you can push it and how much you're going to have to limit how much juice that baby can pull lol.

Im using Corsair's H170i Link in a full push/pull configuration, and I found the sweet spot to be limiting the draw to around  325w. However I've ran it as high at 350w without temps getting too spicy. Anything above that quickly starts jumping to 100C.

I've actually left Asus MCE enabled, but manually limited the cpu based on Intel's Extreme Phase profile, which means limiting the amps to 400 and the PL to 320. But im getting a little ahead of myself now lol. 

[Yuvaletzi]

Thanks again for the reply my friend I have Ryujin iii cooling and my main is gaming and OC I want to get this beast to run 8400mhz! So it’s ok to leave ASUS MCE on and change manually the power limits to the intel’s correct one ? This will have any benefits of leaving this feature on?

[Silent_Scone]

Hi @Yuvaletzi 

Per my PM, I wouldn't concern yourself too much about stability until you've got the system running and in hand. If you get any difficulty at all, it will most likely come from running 8400MT kit, as this is max validation.

See here for more info on XMP/EXPO memory overclocking

[Yuvaletzi]

I saw your post my friend thanks again for the reply but that won’t help me that much it’s very basic information I’m looking for a detailed guide that would help me with OC my RAM what to do if instability which voltages / bios settings should I tweak how to do it and why and by how much for any values adjustment I’m here to learn every information you give me I’ll be very glad if you could help me with that!